For the graph: 2006 and projected 2030 world use of neodymium, germanium and tantalum. The technologies responsible for the growth in use of these materials by 2030 are indicated in red. For the map: The bars show estimated reserves of rare earth elements, germanium and tantalum.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) released today its fourth Environment State and Outlook report — SOER 2010 — a comprehensive assessment of how and why Europe’s environment is changing, and what we are doing about it. SOER 2010 concludes that a fully integrated approach to transforming Europe to a resource-efficient green economy can not only result in a healthy environment, but also boost prosperity and social cohesion.

Good water resource management is required to meet the needs of a resource efficient future, sustain human and economic development and maintain the essential functions of our water ecosystems. The solutions lie in more integrated and sustainable water management, integration of water aspects in sector policies (for example, the Common Agricultural Policy), improved accounting for water efficiency and the full implementation of the Water Framework Directive and other water policies.

Policy has only recently begun to address the challenges of the growing use of resources. Most actions taken to date do not comprehensively address the upstream causes of growth, focusing instead on the downstream consequences. As yet, there are no broadly accepted and robust methods for measuring the impacts of resource use, and few concrete targets or indicators exist. Policies aimed at the prevention of waste remain weak.